The Doctors TV Show

I just watched this today. they showed an otolaryngologist performing surgery inside the throat of a woman who has OSA. It looked great. He removed her tonsils and the repositioned her uvula and other throat structure. Now she has an open airway. The woman was on the show two weeks after the surgery and she said she feels wonderful. She sleeps great and wakes up refreshed. There also was an audience member who had this procedure a year ago and she said it was the best thing she'd ever done. Now they both wake up refreshed after a great night's sleep.
This is so tempting to have done. I just don't like being under anesthesia. If I get disgusted enough wearing a mask every night I might have it done.
They were also talking about all the complications of OSA and the large number of patients with it.
I think insurance will cover it if cpap doesn't work for someone.

Yeahm I saw it too and what they didn't say was that most who have that surgery to 'cure' their OSA in a few years end up needing CPAP therapy anyway...they just delayed the onset a few years.

Why? How could tonsils grow back and uvula change position after stitching in place?
I thought they said this was a NEW procedure.

Most insurances cover this type of surgery only if you have failed PAP therapy.

My father failed PAP years ago and had this surgery in the late 90's. Surgery was successful but the surgeon did not properly pack the sinuses and a day after he was released he almost asphyxiated on the blood. He recovered quickly after that and has been "cured" for just over 10 years now. He had never dreamed in his life and was always tired. He now gets by on 4-6 hours of sleep a night and is more active today than he was in his 40s. He has also lost a significant amount of weight.

However, he nearly died as a result of the surgery, so weigh your options carefully.

I tuned in the show late, but it looked like they didn't even discuss CPAP. The focus seemed to be strictly surgical. When one of the docs asked the oto what people should do to deal with sleep apnea, the oto listed things like good diet, exercise, sleep hygiene, etc. -- good info, but NOTHING to do with sleep apnea per se. The emphasis seemed to be "do these things and if you have it anyway, you need surgery." Did I miss something, or was this whole feature kind of off track?

There are so many variables that each person's odds of surgery being a "cure" for their sleep apnea is different. Severity and anatomy play a role. Any time there are odds it means someone has to make up those percentages on either side. Research and realistically weighing risk probability vs benefit probability and value is all any of us can do to make our health decisions. I have not had this surgery, just know three who did choose surgery and it was not the success they hoped for. Doesn't mean everyone will have that same outcome.

Catnap wrote:...Did I miss something, or was this whole feature kind of off track?

Seemed that way to me: 1-sided, all surgery surgery surgery. Yeah, it might work for some, but no warming on the show that it might NOT WORK or leave you in poor shape for CPAP therapy...a la SaltLakeJan who struggles mightly to make CPAP therapy work.

Gumby says never trust a man with a knife in his hand and a mask on his face.

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Gumby

I've had all sorts of surgeries in the past to deal with snoring: Somnoplasty 4x and uvula-ectomy (don't remember what it was really called). It was a complete sham that only made the ENT rich and made me miserable. I cough and choke all the time because I can't make a good seal when I swallow and end up with stuff going down the wrong pipe (sorry for all the technical jargon, it's been a long day ).

I would NEVER experiment with something like this again. I would wait to see years of studies and positive results before I would even think of it. I can pull off my CPAP if I feel like it, but there's nothing I can do to replace all the missing tissue from the roof and back of my mouth. (I get all sorts of SPAM email, but I've never seen an ad for Uvula Enlargement ).

Anyone who goes to see an ENT about surgery has to understand from his/her perspective - everyone will require surgery. Think about how/where they get their money from? You will be the next boat payment. So just open wide - wider - aaaahh.

I personally thought the surgeon seemed skilled and purposed, not a whack-and-hack. My guess is that with current techniques and a skilled surgeon, the success rate is higher than it once was. Even so, I found the segment to be incomplete and thus misleading. Not that they said anything wrong, but, what's the phrase ... sin of ommission?

I'd like to hear more personal experiences of successful surgery (proven by testing).

Kathy

P.S. The Doctors TV show has a message board on their web site.

My view of this was more in line with newname's - viewtopic.php?f=1&t=46575

What bothered me wasn't that they talked about surgery, but that they didn't talk about CPAP. It was like they jumped straight from "you've got OSA" to "you need surgery" with no discussion of the possibility of using CPAP. I'm not anti-surgery, but I am one of those who wants to try all the interim options before I decide that's my best choice, whether it's apnea or anything else.